Heaping Spoonful
"Heaping Spoonful" is a twice-monthly conversation with restaurateurs, chefs, growers and others who have helped generate the legends associated with eateries across the Mid-South. The team at Ben E. Keith is proud to sponsor this adventure with the goal of preserving the stories that have helped cultivate an amazing food scene across the Mid-South.
Episodes
100 episodes
Josh Woodard of Shotgun Dan's Pizza in Central Arkansas
On this episode of Heaping Spoonful we chat with Josh Woodard, Owner/Operator of Shotgun Dan's Pizza. We hear how Josh took the reins from his father, runs three locations and his thoughts on work ethic and customer service.
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Season 6
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Episode 3
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1:18:58
Shanna Merriweather of Trio's in Little Rock, AR
In this episode of Heaping Spoonful hear how Chef Shanna became what she is today by using local, fresh ingredients. Hear about her inspirations and Thursday night Jazz Night.
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Season 6
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Episode 2
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55:20
Kelley Bass, Former Heaping Spoonful host & Mid-South food scene advocate
Kelley Bass, one of the two founding members of Heaping Spoonful is now the Chief Executive Officer of the Museum of Discovery. This episode is a "passing of the torch" as Kelley did 100+ episodes of HS leaving a well paved trail for Brayan to ...
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Season 6
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Episode 1
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53:22
Rusty Mathis, GM of Ben E. Keith Mid-South Division
Heaping Spoonful began as an idea -- and a name -- created by Rusty Mathis, general manager at Ben E. Keith Foods Mid-South Division. And after nearly 100 episodes, the podcast series ends with an interview with Rusty, who tells listeners about...
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Season 5
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Episode 23
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34:21
Wendy Schay and Jill McDonald of The Croissanterie in Little Rock, AR
Wendy Schay and Jill McDonald tell listeners how a friendship forged as students and then instructors at culinary school led to selling their wares at farmer's markets, then from a food truck and today at The Crossainterie, a popular restaurant...
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Season 5
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Episode 22
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37:50
Gilbert Alaquinez Regional Chef of Hanks Brokerage Inc.
How can a career lead from washing dishes to having three home freezers full of top-quality meat -- and not visiting the butcher counter for at least two years? Tune into Heaping Spoonful and let Chef Gilbert Alaquinez tell you how that happene...
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Season 5
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Episode 21
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43:33
Chef Shane Henderson of Ben E. Keith Mid-South in North Little Rock, AR
When most people think of what a food service company like Ben E. Keith does, warehousing and delivering food is certainly at the top of the list. But having an executive chef like Shane Henderson on staff to help customers in almost countless ...
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Season 5
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Episode 20
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37:05
Mary Laws of RP Tracks in Memphis, TN
Mary Laws, owner of RP Tracks in Memphis, called the hotline to tell listeners how her restaurant/bar has cultivated a great vibe and loyal clientele with a menu that mixes classic meat-focused apps, sandwiches and main courses with lots of cre...
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Season 5
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Episode 19
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25:25
Coby Smith of CARTI in Little Rock, AR
Coby Smith tells Heaping Spoonful listeners how he parlayed his experience as a chef to focus on health care facilities, including some national media coverage he got for the ramen he featured at one spot that became the rage. Today he's thrill...
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Season 5
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Episode 18
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25:10
Meredith Chapuis and Chef Dylan McClure of For the Love in Northwest Arkansas
Meredith Chapuis, one of the three founders, and Chef Dylan McClure tell listeners how their For the Love nonprofit in Northwest Arkansas doesn't just feed hundreds of food-insecure people each week but also helps build community and create the...
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Season 5
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Episode 17
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30:16
Scott Rains of Table 28 in West Little Rock, AR
Scott Rains dropped by to talk about how his skills, his menu and his restaurant -- Table 28 in the Burgundy Hotel in West Little Rock -- have progressed over the 10 years he's been the executive chef there.
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Season 5
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Episode 16
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39:57
Payne Harding of Cache in Little Rock, AR
Payne Harding, executive chef and owner of Cache in downtown Little Rock, tells listeners how a tighter focus on high-end but straightforward Southern cuisine and building and maintaining a strong team has helped his restaurant continue to impr...
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Season 5
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Episode 15
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43:54
Tracy Brown and Clay Caffey of Coy's Southern Eats in Bryant, AR
Tracy Brown and Clay Caffey of Coy's Southern Eats dropped in to tell us about the rebirth of one of the iconic restaurant brands in Arkansas history -- Coy's Steak House -- and where that might lead beyond the spices and other products, they'r...
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Season 5
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Episode 14
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28:46
Rich Cosgrove of Whole Hog in North Little Rock, AR
Rich Cosgrove says great food and service are givens in the restaurant business -- that it's the "enchantment" his team dishes up that differentiates Whole Hog North Little Rock from other restaurants.
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Season 5
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Episode 13
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30:25
Brandon Douglas of Mug's Cafe, Mylo's and Leiva's in Central Arkansas
Brandon Douglas tells our listeners the plans his team has in the works for Mug's Cafe Little Rock, Mug's Cafe North Little Rock, Mylo's Coffee and Leiva's, their four premier coffee shops in the Little Rock metropolitan area.
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Season 5
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Episode 12
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28:48
John Mabry of Vacari in Corinth, MS
John Mabry called the Heaping Spoonful hotline to tell listeners how his path from college to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York to culinary school in Avignon, France, to his next job in the kitchen at a five-star hotel in Miami eventually l...
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Season 5
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Episode 11
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47:41
Joshua Garland & Fatima Alvirde of Best Cafe & Bar in Hot Springs, AR
Chef/owner Joshua Garland and director of operations Fatima Alvirde talk about the amazing success they've had with Best Cafe and Bar in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and how excited they are about their next project, DONS Southern Social, a true "spe...
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Season 5
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Episode 10
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33:35
Jamie and Rob Gaston of Copper Mule Table & Tap in Bryant, AR
Jamie and Rob Gaston explain how wanting a local, "niche" restaurant choice in Bryant led them to open Copper Mule Table and Tap, which has more than doubled in size in its two-plus years in business and soon will add a second location in the H...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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41:35
Jordan Wright of Wright's Barbecue in Northwest Arkansas
Jordan Wright tells listeners how his first bite of truly transcendent beef brisket – smoky, totally tender and juicy and just mind-blowingly awesome -- at a legendary Texas restaurant ignited a fire that has led him to open three very successf...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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1:00:24
Denis Seyer of the famed Jacques & Suzanne
Denis Seyer, a Frenchman, had never heard of Little Rock or Arkansas when he agreed to become a chef at Jacques and Suzanne, which opened atop the tallest building in the state in 1975. Forty-eight years later he tells Heaping Spoonful listen...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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32:33
Doug Wood of Catfish Charlie's in Monroe, LA
Doug Wood's grandfather and uncle owned popular restaurants when he was a kid, but it was his seven years selling point-of-sale systems to more than 300 eateries that gave Doug the background to make solid decisions in how he would operate Catf...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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33:13
Kyle Carson of The Grumpy Rabbit in Lonoke, AR
Kyle Carson, executive chef at The Grumpy Rabbit, told Heaping Spoonful about how rekindling a relationship with renowned chef James Hale led him to this outstanding restaurant in the small town of Lonoke, Arkansas, and how he and his kitchen t...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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30:23
Dan Kovach of Copper Grill and Capers in Little Rock, AR
Dan Kovach dropped by the Heaping Spoonful studio to tell listeners how working as a server at the legendary and lamented Cajun's Wharf in Little Rock almost a quarter-century ago started him on the path to owning two of the city's most popular...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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44:22
Sam Russell and Hunter Kissinger of The Buttered Biscuit in Northwest Arkansas
The Buttered Biscuit is one of the most compelling success stories on the Northwest Arkansas food scene, growing from concept to four booming restaurants in about four years. Sam Russell, co-founder, co-owner and CEO, and Hunter Kissinger, dire...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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1:06:27
John Harpool of Bocca in Fayetteville, AR
John Harpool, executive chef and general manager at Bocca in Fayetteville, Arkansas, stopped by to tell Heaping Spoonful listeners how he parlayed a mild interest in food as a kid to a successful career -- and why his restaurant is committed to...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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33:54